The ambitious director Derek Cianfrance who brought us ‘Blue Valentine’ and ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ returns with the bittersweet romantic epic ‘The Light Between Oceans.’ Adapted from the 2012 M.L. Stedman bestseller, this weepy melodrama is guaranteed to make you reach for plenty of Kleenex. Unabashedly sentimental, the story set on the rocky Western Australian coast will tug at your heartstrings. The romantic undertones are vaguely reminiscent of a Nicolas Spark’s novel. The difference is that ‘The Light Between Oceans’ has superb acting from Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander that feels achingly real against a gorgeous cinematic backdrop. Leave the beau at home and make this one a girls’ night out at the movies.
Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender) is a returning soldier from World War I. He applies for a job as a lighthouse keeper on the island of Janus Rock. It’s an isolated place but perfect for Tom looking for solitude after experiencing so much wartime trauma. Before embarking on his new job, the local community on the mainland invites him over for a farewell meal. Tom quickly falls in love with Isabel Graysmark (Alicia Vikander) who is fine with marrying him and setting up house on the island. They have a simple yet cozy life together. Cianfrance is well-known for getting heartfelt performances from his romantic leads and Fassbender and Vikander are no exception. The two began an off-screen relationship on the set that gives their scenes an authentic chemistry.
At first their life is blissful until the couple tries to start a family. These scenes are painful to watch as Isabel has two miscarriages. When it looks like they will remain childless, a miracle washes up on the shore. In a rowboat are a dead man and a crying baby. Isabel is ecstatic as her maternal instincts kick in. She convinces Tom that they should raise the baby as their own. He reluctantly agrees as he sees how happy the child makes her. The moral dilemma intensifies during a visit to the mainland to christen their daughter they’ve named Lucy. Tom sees a grieving woman (Rachel Weisz) in a cemetery mourning the loss of her husband and daughter. It happens to be the man and baby that washed ashore on the island. The sad part is that no matter what happens from this point on, it can only lead to heartbreak for one of them.
One of the fascinating aspects of the story is how there are no absolutes. Although Lucy’s real birth mother is Weisz’s character Hannah, there is no perfect answer as to who should raise her. Both mothers are capable of taking care of her but Lucy (wonderfully played by Florence Clery) has grown attached to Isabel and her life on Janus Rock. Janus is named for the Roman God of transitions, “always looking both ways, torn between two ways of seeing things.” Tom wanted to report the missing boat but Isabel pressures him to make it appear like she actually gave birth to Lucy. He did it to make her happy when he saw how much joy the child brought to her. When they come to the mainland, Tom’s conscience gets the best of him. He is tortured with guilt when he meets Lucy’s real mother. Isabel wants to keep the secret going while Tom wants to ease his guilt.
The ocean is turbulent like the emotions among the characters. The lighthouse itself becomes a character in its own right. It becomes the couple’s sanctuary as well as their prison. The brutality of nature’s isolation on Janus was diminished by the addition of Lucy. It made them a real family. Alexander Desplat’s powerful piano soundtrack builds on the emotion. The cinematography by Adam Arkapaw is luscious as it enhances the beautiful ocean vistas. Cianfrance repeatedly uses close-up shots to brilliantly convey the emotions of Fassbender and Vikander. ‘The Light Between Oceans’ is not perfect but the Ingmar Bergman style of filmmaking Cianfrance toys with makes it a powerful melodrama with stellar acting.
